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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6374
January Session, 2021
AN ACT CONCERNING SE XUAL MISCONDUCT ON C OLLEGE
CAMPUSES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 10a-55m of the general 1
statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2
(Effective July 1, 2021): 3
(a) For purposes of this section, [and] sections 10a-55n to 10a-55q, 4
inclusive, and sections 2 and 3 of this act: 5
(1) "Affirmative consent" means an active, clear and voluntary 6
agreement by a person to engage in sexual activity with another person; 7
(2) "Awareness programming" means institutional action designed to 8
inform the campus community of the affirmative consent standard used 9
pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section, and 10
communicate the prevalence of sexual assaults, stalking and intimate 11
partner violence, including the nature and number of cases of sexual 12
assault, stalking and intimate partner violence reported at or disclosed 13
to each institution of higher education in the preceding three calendar 14
years, including, but not limited to, poster and flyer campaigns, 15
electronic communications, films, guest speakers, symposia, 16
conferences, seminars or panel discussions; 17 Substitute Bill No. 6374
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(3) "Bystander intervention" means the act of challenging the social 18
norms that support, condone or permit sexual assault, stalking and 19
intimate partner violence; 20
(4) "Institution of higher education" means an institution of higher 21
education, as defined in section 10a-55, and a for-profit institution of 22
higher education licensed to operate in this state, but shall not include 23
Charter Oak State College for purposes of subsections (c) and (f) of this 24
section and sections 10a-55n to 10a-55p, inclusive; 25
(5) "Intimate partner violence" means any physical or sexual harm 26
against an individual by a current or former spouse of or person in a 27
dating relationship with such individual that results from any action by 28
such spouse or such person that may be classified as a sexual assault 29
under section 53a-70b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised 30
to January 1, 2019, or section 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-71, 53a-72a, 53a-72b or 31
53a-73a, stalking under section 53a-181c, 53a-181d or 53a-181e, or family 32
violence as designated under section 46b-38h; 33
(6) "Primary prevention programming" means institutional action 34
and strategies intended to prevent sexual assault, stalking and intimate 35
partner violence before it occurs by means of changing social norms and 36
other approaches, including, but not limited to, poster and flyer 37
campaigns, electronic communications, films, guest speakers, symposia, 38
conferences, seminars or panel discussions; 39
(7) "Sexual assault" means a sexual assault under section 53a-70, 53a-40
70a, 53a-71, 53a-72a, 53a-72b or 53a-73a; 41
(8) "Stalking" means stalking under section 53a-181c, 53a-181d or 53a-42
181e; and 43
(9) "Uniform campus crime report" means a campus crime report 44
prepared by an institution of higher education pursuant to section 10a-45
55a. 46
(b) Each institution of higher education shall adopt and disclose in 47 Substitute Bill No. 6374
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such institution's annual uniform campus crime report one or more 48
policies regarding sexual assault, stalking and intimate partner violence. 49
Such policy or policies shall include provisions for: 50
(1) Informing students and employees that, in the context of an 51
alleged violation of the policy or policies regarding sexual assault and 52
intimate partner violence, (A) affirmative consent is the standard used 53
in determining whether consent to engage in sexual activity was given 54
by all persons who engaged in the sexual activity, (B) affirmative 55
consent may be revoked at any time during the sexual activity by any 56
person engaged in the sexual activity, (C) it is the responsibility of each 57
person to ensure that he or she has the affirmative consent of all persons 58
engaged in the sexual activity to engage in the sexual activity and that 59
the affirmative consent is sustained throughout the sexual activity, (D) 60
it shall not be a valid excuse to an alleged lack of affirmative consent 61
that the student or employee responding to the alleged violation 62
believed that the student or employee reporting or disclosing the 63
alleged violation consented to the sexual activity (i) because the 64
responding student or employee was intoxicated or reckless or failed to 65
take reasonable steps to ascertain whether the student or employee 66
reporting or disclosing the alleged violation affirmatively consented, or 67
(ii) if the responding student or employee knew or should have known 68
that the student or employee reporting or disclosing the alleged 69
violation was unable to consent because such student or employee was 70
unconscious, asleep, unable to communicate due to a mental or physical 71
condition, or incapacitated due to the influence of drugs, alcohol or 72
medication, and (E) the existence of a past or current dating or sexual 73
relationship between the student or employee reporting or disclosing 74
the alleged violation and the responding student or employee, in and of 75
itself, shall not be determinative of a finding of affirmative consent; 76
(2) Detailing the procedures that students and employees of the 77
institution who report or disclose being the victim of sexual assault, 78
stalking or intimate partner violence may follow after the commission 79
of such assault, stalking or violence, regardless of where such incidences 80 Substitute Bill No. 6374
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occurred, including persons or agencies to contact and information 81
regarding the importance of preserving physical evidence of such 82
assault, stalking or violence; 83
(3) Providing students and employees of the institution who report 84
or disclose being the victim of sexual assault, stalking or intimate 85
partner violence both concise, written contact information for and, if 86
requested, professional assistance in accessing and utilizing campus, 87
local advocacy, counseling, health and mental health services, and 88
concise information, written in plain language, concerning the rights of 89
such students and employees to (A) notify law enforcement of such 90
assault, stalking or violence and receive assistance from campus 91
authorities in making any such notification, and (B) obtain a protective 92
order, apply for a temporary restraining order or seek enforcement of 93
an existing protective or restraining order, including, but not limited to, 94
orders issued pursuant to section 46b-15, 46b-38c, 53a-40e, 54-1k, 54-82q 95
or 54-82r, against the perpetrator of such assault, stalking or violence; 96
(4) Notifying such students and employees of any reasonably 97
available options for and available assistance from such institution in 98
changing academic, living, campus transportation or working situations 99
in response to [such] sexual assault, stalking or intimate partner 100
violence; 101
(5) Honoring any lawful protective or temporary restraining orders, 102
including, but not limited to, orders issued pursuant to section 46b-15, 103
46b-38c, 53a-40e, 54-1k, 54-82q or 54-82r; 104
(6) Disclosing a summary of such institution's student investigation 105
and disciplinary procedures, including clear statements advising that 106
(A) a student or employee who reports or discloses being a victim of 107
[such] sexual assault, stalking or intimate partner violence shall have the 108
opportunity to request that an investigation begin promptly, (B) the 109
investigation and any disciplinary proceedings shall be conducted by 110
an official trained annually in issues relating to sexual assault, stalking 111
and intimate partner violence and shall use the preponderance of the 112 Substitute Bill No. 6374
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evidence standard in making a determination concerning the alleged 113
assault, stalking or violence, (C) both the student or employee who 114
reports or discloses the alleged assault, stalking or violence and the 115
student responding to such report or disclosure (i) are entitled to be 116
accompanied to any meeting or proceeding relating to the allegation of 117
such assault, stalking or violence by an advisor or support person of 118
their choice, provided the involvement of such advisor or support 119
person does not result in the postponement or delay of such meeting as 120
scheduled, and (ii) shall have the opportunity to present evidence and 121
witnesses on their behalf during any disciplinary proceeding, (D) both 122
the student or employee reporting or disclosing the alleged assault 123
stalking or violence and such responding student are entitled to be 124
informed in writing of the results of any disciplinary proceeding not 125
later than one business day after the conclusion of such proceeding, (E) 126
the institution of higher education shall not disclose the identity of any 127
party to an investigation or disciplinary proceeding, except as necessary 128
to carry out the investigation or disciplinary proceeding or as permitted 129
under state or federal law, [and] (F) a standard of affirmative consent is 130
used in determining whether consent to engage in sexual activity was 131
given by all persons who engaged in the sexual activity, and (G) a 132
student or employee who reports or discloses the alleged assault, 133
stalking or violence shall not be subject to disciplinary action by the 134
institution of higher education for violation of a policy of such 135
institution concerning the use of drugs or alcohol if (i) the report or 136
disclosure was made in good faith, and (ii) the violation of such policy 137
did not place the health or safety of another person at risk; 138
(7) Disclosing a summary of such institution's employee investigation 139
and disciplinary procedures, including clear statements advising that a 140
standard of affirmative consent is used in determining whether consent 141
to engage in sexual activity was given by all persons who engaged in 142
the sexual activity; and 143
(8) Disclosing the range of sanctions that may be imposed following 144
the implementation of such institution's student and employee 145 Substitute Bill No. 6374
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disciplinary procedures in response to such assault, stalking or violence. 146
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) There is established a Council 147
on Sexual Misconduct Climate Assessments, which shall be part of the 148
Legislative Department. The council shall have the following powers 149
and duties: (1) Develop a list of data points to be collected by institutions 150
of higher education through student responses to sexual misconduct 151
climate assessments. Such data points shall include, but not be limited 152
to, data regarding (A) student awareness of institutional policies and 153
procedures related to sexual assault, stalking and intimate partner 154
violence, (B) if a student reported sexual assault, stalking or violence to 155
an institution of higher education or law enforcement, the response to 156
and results of such report, and (C) student perceptions of campus safety; 157
(2) recommend one or more sexual misconduct climate assessments that 158
collect the data points identified by the council; (3) recommend 159
guidelines for the implementation of such assessments, which shall 160
include, but need not be limited to, procedures for (A) achieving a high 161
rate of response to such assessments to ensure statistically accurate 162
survey results, (B) protecting the confidentiality of respondents to such 163
assessments, and (C) receiving responses to such assessments from as 164
broad and diverse a segment of the student population as possible; and 165
(4) perform such other acts as may be necessary and appropriate to carry 166
out the duties described in this section. 167
(b) The council shall consist of the following members: 168
(1) The cochairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General 169
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education 170
and employment advancement; 171
(2) One appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, 172
who has expertise in the development and design of sexual misconduct 173
climate assessments; 174
(3) One appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who 175
shall be a student enrolled in a public institution of higher education in 176 Substitute Bill No. 6374
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the state; 177
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 178
Representatives, who has expertise in statistics, data analytics or 179
econometrics related to higher education assessments; 180
(5) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who shall be 181
a student enrolled in an independent institution of higher education in 182
the state; 183
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of 184
Representatives, who shall be a representative of the Victim Rights 185
Center of Connecticut; 186
(7) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who shall be 187
a Title IX coordinator at an institution of higher education in the state; 188
(8) The Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's 189
designee; 190
(9) The president of The University of Connecticut, or the president's 191
designee; 192
(10) Two designated by the Board of Regents for Higher Education, 193
one of whom represents the Connecticut State University System and 194
one of whom represents the regional community-technical college 195
system; 196
(11) One designated by the Connecticut Conference of Independent 197
Colleges, who represents the independent institutions of higher 198
education in the state; 199
(12) Three designated by the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual 200
Violence, one of whom is a victim of sexual assault or intimate partner 201
violence who resides in a rural community in the state, one of whom is 202
a victim of sexual assault or intimate partner violence who resides in an 203
urban community in the state and at least one of whom is a person who 204 Substitute Bill No. 6374
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is black, indigenous or a person of color; 205
(13) One designated by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic 206
Violence who is a victim of intimate partner violence; 207
(14) One designated by True Colors, Inc. who is a lesbian, gay, 208
bisexual, transgender or a queer person; 209
(15) The staff director of the Every Voice Coalition, or the staff 210
director's designee; and 211
(16) Three students, designated by the Every Voice Coalition, one of 212
whom is enrolled at a public institution of higher education, one of 213
whom is enrolled at an independent institution of higher education and 214
at least one of whom is a person who is black, indigenous or a person of 215
color. 216
(c) Any member of the council appointed or designated under 217
subsection (b) of this section may be a member of the General Assembly. 218
(d) All initial appointments to the council shall be made not later than 219
sixty days after the effective date of this section and shall terminate on 220
June 30, 2026, regardless of when the initial appointment or designation 221
was made. Any member of the council may serve more than one term. 222
(e) The cochairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General 223
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education 224
shall jointly select the chairperson of the council from among the 225
members of the council. The chairperson of the council shall schedule 226
the first meeting of the council, which shall be held not later than sixty 227
days after the effective date of this section. 228
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 229
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher 230
education shall serve as administrative staff of the council. 231
(g) Members of the council who are appointed or designated shall 232 Substitute Bill No. 6374
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serve for four-year terms, which shall commence on the date of 233
appointment, except as provided in subsection (d) of this section. 234
Members shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed or 235
designated. 236
(h) Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing or designating 237
authority not later than thirty days after the vacancy occurs. Any 238
vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the 239
balance of the unexpired term. 240
(i) A majority of the council shall constitute a quorum for the 241
transaction of any business. 242
(j) The members of the council shall serve without compensation, but 243
shall, within the limits of available funds, be reimbursed for expenses 244
necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties. 245
(k) The council shall meet as often as deemed necessary by the 246
chairperson or a majority of the council. Any appointed or designated 247
member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or who fails to 248
attend fifty per cent of all meetings held during any calendar year shall 249
be deemed to have resigned from the council. 250
(l) Not later than January 1, 2022, and every two years thereafter, the 251
council shall submit, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a 252
of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General 253
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education 254
and to each institution of higher education in the state the (1) list of data 255
points developed by the council, and (2) recommended sexual 256
misconduct climate assessments and guidelines for the implementation 257
of such assessments. 258
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) On or before March 1, 2023, 259
and every two years thereafter, each institution of higher education in 260
the state shall conduct a sexual misconduct climate assessment that 261
collects the data points developed by the Council on Sexual Misconduct 262
Climate Assessments, pursuant to section 2 of this act, and distribute 263 Substitute Bill No. 6374
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such assessment to each enrolled student in accordance with the 264
guidelines recommended by said council. An institution may use any 265
sexual misconduct climate assessment, including, but not limited to, one 266
recommended by the council or developed by an institution of higher 267
education or a national association, provided such assessment collects 268
all of the data points developed by the council. 269
(b) Each institution of higher education shall include with the sexual 270
misconduct climate assessment a statement that (1) the identity of 271
assessment respondents shall be confidential, (2) students should not 272
disclose personally identifying information with their assessment 273
responses, and (3) no assessment responses may be used as a basis of 274
disciplinary action or legal proceeding. 275
(c) Not later than six months after the distribution of the sexual 276
misconduct climate assessment pursuant to subsection (a) of this 277
section, and every two years thereafter, each institution of higher 278
education in the state shall (1) submit a report, in accordance with the 279
provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing 280
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 281
relating to higher education on the summary results for each question 282
of the sexual misconduct climate assessment, and (2) post on its Internet 283
web site the campus-level results of the sexual misconduct climate 284
assessment, its uniform campus crime report prepared pursuant to 285
section 10a-55a of the general statutes, and an Internet link to the report 286
on the summary results of such assessment submitted to the joint 287
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 288
matters relating to higher education. 289
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2021 10a-55m(a) and (b)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2021 New section
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HED Joint Favorable Subst.